My name is Adrienne Vernell Hughes, and I’m a Michigan based freelance paralegal offering virtual legal support services to small law firms, legal departments and solo attorneys.

First, I would ask that you bear with me as I’m using Google+’s Hangout for the first time, which I absolutely love!

Second, to the attorneys and other support persons within the legal field (legal secretaries, legal assistants, paralegals, file clerks), or those aspiring to enter into the legal field, I want to say thank you for visiting & viewing my first live video in my paralegal series.

My goal is to use this platform to network, learn from & offer any assistance that I can for those like myself, or as I said, those looking to break into the field.

I hope you like the information I provide and come back often to view & share with your friends, family and collogues, as well as give your feedback.

Okay, so let’s get started with some background information on myself. I first entered into the legal field in the early 1990s, I’m thinking around 94-95… Yes, that sounds about right. I always knew I wanted to be in the legal field and work in a law office. I was majoring in criminal justice, and I tried out positions as a security guard and an emergency operator, I’ve even entertained the idea of taking the police officer’s exam, but neither of those worked out. Eventually, I would take a legal secretarial course and begin working as temp.

The first firm I was assigned to was Ada Montgomery & Associates. And to this day, it is still my favorite and most valuable job experience. Within a few weeks, I was hired on a permanent basis to work with one of the partners, and trained by the principal partner’s Sr. Paralegal. And, that was the beginning of my paralegal career.

The firm provided me with all the basic training I needed to develop my career as a paralegal. Everything from interviewing potential clients and witnesses, drafting legal documents and pleadings, managing a case through the discovery process and trial assistance, to going out into the field for court filings and process serving… In fact, by going out into the field, I knew then that I would someday provide legal support services to attorneys as an independent contractor — from my own office.

Over the years, my career has focused mainly on civil litigation cases, and has taken me into the firms of attorneys specializing in bankruptcy, criminal defense, family law — divorce cases, landlord-tenant cases, and the most recent medical malpractice cases (both plaintiff and defense) and appeal’s cases.

As the traditional law office environments continue to change with the rapidly advancement of technology, how we connect with clients, opposing counsel, the courts, experts, vendors and colleagues, as well as the need to cut spending to keep business striving, more firms are converting their practices and utilizing a paperless concept.

As a freelance virtual paralegal, my work product is no different than an in-house “employee” within your firm. Attorneys are able to work with me and receive the same quality of work product in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner, just as if I was sitting at a desk in their office.

Attorneys should only spend their time doing two things: (1) practicing law and (2) increasing their client base. My job is to simply enable you to focus on those tasks – nothing more, nothing less! As a freelance paralegal,

My Mission is to:
[]help you Maximize your billable hours;
[]help you Improve your client retention;
[]help you Increase your profits;
[]help you Meet your deadlines; and
[]help you Save your time and energy, so you can do what you do best, practice law. . .

Should you wish to inquire further about my virtual freelance paralegal support services, or wish to request a quote, please visit my website.Video Rating: / 5